Break The Burnout Cycle
Get to know spring and your follicular phase to help you end patterns of burnout once and for all.
Spring in the natural world and in our bodies–the follicular phase of our menstrual cycles–can be times of excitement, re-emergence and a rush of energy. But it’s at these points when it feels like life is returning that we can unintentionally plant seeds that bloom into burnout in later seasons.
To avoid ending up with a garden full of burnout, it’s essential to know what’s happening during the spring seasons of nature and of your menstrual cycle, and to contextualize this knowledge in the cycles as a whole. By getting to know these inner and outer seasons better, you can break patterns that set you up for burnout at the source.
What is “inner spring”?
The follicular phase of the menstrual cycle is considered your “inner spring”, because its qualities mirror the spring season in the natural world. This mirror can even be found in your rising hormone levels, as FSH, LH and estrogen rise in the body following their lowest points during your bleed, not unlike sap rising in trees as they awaken from winter’s sleep and prepare to bloom again. The result is that there can be many similarities between how you feel during your follicular phase and during the spring season in nature.
the seed of burnout
While how each menstruator feels during these inner and outer spring seasons can vary, a common pattern is that you may feel a growing interest in starting new things or saying ‘yes’ to new commitments. It’s a very natural response as you experience increasing energy, a renewed pull to socialize and connect with others, and greater access to creativity and problem-solving.
Learning to enjoy the gifts of these seasons in moderation is the first step in breaking burnout patterns, because it’s easy to go to extremes, especially in our productivity-obsessed culture.
Going to extremes could be that you suddenly feel an urgent need to start ALL THE THINGS, plotting out projects you want to begin, trips you want to take, a business you want to start, friends you want to see, and cleaning out your entire home or wardrobe.
We’ve all felt a similar feeling on that first sunny, slightly warm-ish day in spring when you can’t help but open up the windows to let the fresh air in. But what happens the next day? The weather turns cold and rainy, and you’re back wearing a sweater.
The true nature of inner and outer spring is delicate and fickle. So the suggestion here isn’t to ignore the natural urge to start, but to start slowly, gently and with discernment.
THE TRUTH ABOUT SPRING
Spring energy is a fragile sprout. If we completely give into the urge to say “yes” to every invitation and idea, that’s when we set our future selves up for burnout.
During winter and inner winter (the menstrual phase), you’ve been replenishing and rebuilding your reserves of energy to sustain you throughout the next cycle. Traditional Chinese Medicine considers these reserves as your life force energy. You can think of it as your longevity savings account that you don’t want to dip into.
In spring seasons, your energy checking account starts to refill. This is the energy you can use without depleting your reserves. But it is filling up slooooowly, like a bucket collecting maple sap ONE DROP AT A TIME. At the beginning of spring, you might feel like you’ve got a full bucket, but in reality, you have nowhere near enough sap to make a bottle of maple syrup.
expend spring energy wisely
So how do you know how much energy you can safely spend during inner or outer spring, so you don’t end up in burnout later? Let’s look to nature–and an infamous plant–to guide us:
Ramps are a type of wild leek that foodies got obsessed with and started overharvesting, putting them on the threatened species list. That’s because ramp foragers who wanted to profit off of the foodies’ obsession were pulling up the whole plant, roots and all. But ramps are delicate, slow growers, as “it takes each plant five to seven years to produce seeds.” So the way to not obliterate the species is to harvest one leaf from those early spring sprouts and leave the other leaf and the underground bulb and roots to continue growing.
In spring and the follicular phase, the goal is to use “one leaf’s” worth of energy, so that you have resources left in your energy checking AND savings accounts for the rest of the cycle. Any more than that, and you risk planting seeds of burnout or fertilizing existing burnout.
LEARNING TO PLAN AHEAD
We demonstrate skillfulness at working with our cycles when we anticipate what is ahead and act accordingly, carefully discerning what we commit to when our energy is high, setting ourselves up to use the limited energy of later phases wisely.
The truth is that you do have energy to say “yes” to new things in these spring seasons, and that energy will continue to grow through inner and outer summer. But where we get into trouble is forgetting that our energy levels change over the course of our cycles.
When we understand these cycles as a whole, we know that there will be a time when–like clockwork–our energy will wane and our capacity will decrease, i.e. when we begin powering down for our bleed in the luteal phase (“inner fall”) of our menstrual cycles and nature begins preparing for winter in fall.
So when we overspend, overload and overcommit in our high energy phases, we set our future selves up for burnout in our low energy phases, because they’ll have a to-do list a mile long and nothing left in the bucket to give. And that’s why what we do in spring seasons is key to avoiding future burnout.
(Side note: this is one reason why menopause can be a challenging experience for women, and why not dipping into your life force savings pre-menopause is so key. Same principles just applied to the stages of life.)
From vicious to virtuous cycles
Spring and the follicular phase are our chance to set a new pattern in motion, one where we protect our future selves from burnout. Here’s how:
Recognize when you’re in an inner or outer spring. Track your menstrual cycle and the seasons to anticipate when this urge to say “yes” might arrive.
Notice when others around you are in a spring-like season. Sometimes the pressure to say “yes” to everything is coming from outside of us, and it’s not so much our own seasons, but cultural pressure on women and menstruators to be accommodating, pleasing and productive. If you’re feeling overwhelmed with new commitments, get to the root cause by asking yourself: are these coming from within me or outside of me?
Clarify your priorities. Write down what’s most important to you in this current cycle. As invitations and ideas arise, use these priorities as a helpful filter to pass them through to know what to say “yes”, “no” or “not now” to.
Toe-dip before you commit. Inner and outer springs are times when you’re primed for brainstorming, ideating, and dipping your toes into a new thing before you decide if it’s a fit. Often, we can feel a false sense of urgency in making a decision. Do you really have to decide right now? (Ask if you don’t know!) These seasons are perfect reminders that it’s ok to actively explore an idea without committing until it’s actually time to decide.
Block out time to rest. Remember the ramp’s leaf, bulb and root we want to leave in the ground? We want to make sure you too are receiving the rest and nourishment during inner and outer spring to keep growing all cycle long. If you notice your calendar is filling up, set aside dedicated time for your rest, relaxation and pleasure.
With these practices in mind, you have everything you need to take action on what is in your control to stop the vicious cycle of burnout.
Because while we are not wholly responsible for burnout–capitalism, patriarchy and all of its friends play huge roles–we can internalize these patterns so deeply that we recreate them, even in the absence of outside pressure or influence.
So start small and start by taking action on what is within your control. It takes time to change patterns. But by sticking with it, you can begin to restore your well-being and build your capacity and skill to break destructive cycles that affect others and our planet.
Photo Credit: Darya Sannikova
Disclaimer: This article is intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. None of the information provided should be construed as medical advice. If you have concerns related to your menstrual cycle, please consult a licensed health care provider.